SUMMARY OF DEVAVANIPRAVESHIKA:

Note: Sandhi is not included, for the book is already minimally short on it and clearly illustrates the
workings of the process.

Lesson 4: Parts of speech and the Sanskrit sentence

Nouns (e.g the cat) and verbs (e.g to move) are conjugated (verbs) or declined (nouns). Pronouns
(he) and adjectives (beautiful) are also declined.

All Sanskrit verbs have a root, a dhātus (verbal root)

E.g asti (he is) has as (to be).

Finite verb:

Finite verb has person/mood/tense. Finite verbs are the heart of a sentence.

Person:

First person: The actor and speaker are the same (e.g: I am writing this. I am both the speaker and
the writer / actor).

Second person: The actor and the audience are the same (You should read this carefully. You are
both the reader / actor as well as the recipient of my words)

Third person: The actor is neither the speaker nor the audience (He should do this. He is neither the
speaker, nor the audience in this case).

Sanskrit names:

prathamapuruSa = Third person (Literally = First-person), e.g he does

madhyamapuruSa = Second person (Literally = Middle-person), e.g you do

uttamapuruSa = First person (Literally = last-person), e.g I do.

Number: Describes how many there are

Singular – He does (Sanskrit name: ekavacana – one-speech)

Dual – They two do (There are 2 people doing it), Sanskrit name = Dvivacana (Two-speech)

Plural – They do (In English it’s not clear, but in Sanskrit it means there are 3+ actors) (Sanskrit name
= bahuvacana, many-speech).
Tense: Describes the time period and temporal location of an action

These will be discussed plentifully over the lessons.

Mood/Mode: Defines how the actor and the action are related

This term is now vague, but will become clear over the lessons. In the meantime, take this one:

Indicative – Facts (He does, it is a fact that he is doing something)

Imperative – Command (Do!, It is not a fact that he is doing it, simply that he must do it as
commanded by the speaker).

Voice: Refers to

Parasmaipada (Parasmai = Dative of para, another = for another, pada = word, word for another).
This is commonly called the active voice in English.

Ātmanepada (ātmane = Dative of ātman, self = for oneself, pada = word = word for oneself). This is
commonly called the middle voice in English

Karmani prayoga (karmani = locative of karman), prayoga = use, use in the object (The object is
used). This will become clearer later.

The distinction between the Parasmaipada and ātmanepada have largely faded, but is spell
important. It is not parallel to the active and middle voice in English.

Some verbs can be conjugated in both the parasmaipada and ātmanepada. These are called
Ubhayapada (Word belonging to both sides, refering to both the parasmaipada and ātmanepada).

PRESENT TENSE: vartamāne laṭ (Action in the present)

परस्मैपद वर्तमाने लट् एववचन द्विवचन बहुवचन

प्रथमपुरुष -ति (-ti) -तः (-taḥ) -अन्ति (-anti)
मध्यमपुरुष -सि (-si) -थः (-thaḥ) -थ (-tha)
उत्तमपुरुष -मि (-mi) -वः (-vaḥ) -मः (-maḥ)

These are the परस्मैपद (parasmaipada) endings, thus from root भव (bhava) (to become) we get:

भवति (bhavati) – he becomes

भवथः (bavathaḥ) – You two become

Etc.

The आत्मनेपद (ātmanepada) endings:

आत्मनेपद वर्तमाने लट् एववचन द्विवचन बहुवचन

प्रथमपुरुष -ते (-te) -आते (-āte) -अन्ते (-ante)
मध्यमपुरुष -से (-se) -आथे (-āthe) -ध्वे (-dhve)
उत्तमपुरुष -ए (-e) -वहे (-vahe) -महे (-mahe)

An example based on vad (to tell) and bhāṣ (to speak)

परस्मैपद वर्तमाने लट् एववचन द्विवचन बहुवचन

प्रथमपरु
ु ष वदति (vadati) वदतः (vadataḥ) वदन्ति (vadanti)
मध्यमपुरुष वदसि (vadasi) वदथः (vadathaḥ) वदथ (vadatha)
उत्तमपुरुष वदामि (vadāmi) वदावः (vadāvaḥ) वदामः (vadāmaḥ)

आत्मनेपद वर्तमाने लट् एववचन द्विवचन बहुवचन

प्रथमपुरुष भाषते (bhāṣate) भाषेते (bhāṣete) भाषन्ते (bhāṣante)
मध्यमपुरुष भाषसे (bhāṣase) भाषेथे (bhāṣethe) भाषध्वे (bhāṣadhve)
उत्तमपुरुष भाषे (bhāṣe) भाषावहे (bhāṣāvahe) भाषामहे (bhāṣāmahe)

A few rules to be noted:

अ (a) lengthens to आ (ā) before the endings मि (mi), मः (maḥ), वः (vaḥ), वहे (vahe), महे (mahe)

When अ preceeds the प्रथमपुरुष आत्मनेपद or परस्मैपद बहुवचन (prathamapuruSa ātmanepada or

parasmaipada bahuvacana), the अ (a) is dropped, hence we get वदन्ति (vadanti), not a hypothetical
वदान्ति (vadānti)

अ + आ yields ए (भाषेते (bhāṣete) and भाषेथे (bhāṣethe), not भाषाथे (bhāṣāthe) or भाषाते (bhāṣāte)

Sometimes the nasal of the terminations अन्ति (anti) and अन्ते (ante) are lost, we will deal with this
later.

Finally, we will deal with one verb which is irregular, namely अस ् (to be):

परस्मैपद वर्तमाने लट् एववचन द्विवचन बहुवचन

 प्रथमपुरुष अस्ति (asti) स्तः (staḥ) सन्ति (santi)
मध्यमपुरुष असि (asi) स्थः (sthaḥ) स्थ (stha)
उत्तमपुरुष अस्मि (asmi) स्वः (svaḥ) स्मः (smaḥ)

DECLENSION:

Declension mainly involves three things:

लिङ्ग (liṅga) – gender (Note: this can be biological gender, but it doesn’t have to be. The word for
axe परशःु (parashuḥ) is masculine for example, but biologically it would be neuter).

वचन (vacana) – number (Identical as in verbs)

विभक्ति (vibhakti) – case

लिङ्ग (liṅga) has a three-way distinction, like in English:

पंलि
ु ङ्ग (puṁliṅga) – masculine gender

स्त्रीलिङ्ग (strīliṅga) – Feminine gender

नपुंसकलिङ्ग (napuṁsakaliṅga) – Neuter gender

As mentioned before, they’re not biological in many cases. They should be considered more like a
group of nouns which follow the same pattern. Once one masters this distinction, लिङ्ग (liṅga) will
become very easy to grasp.

विभक्ति (vibhakti) – case

विभक्ति (vibhakti) has a wide usage and is possibly one of the most difficult concepts that must be
grasped early on (by far it is not the most difficult, but it is one of the most difficult subjects which
are introduced early-on). For this reason, let us tackle it right now:

विभक्ति (vibhakti) says something about the function a noun has. विभक्ति (vibhakti) exists in English
as well. Just look at these two sentences:

I kill him – I is the subject, him is the object

Him kill I – It is ungrammatical, but you can still understand I is the subject, and him is the object.

Now substitute him for he and I for me

Me kills he – you feel that he is the doer of kills, and me is the object

He kills me – Same story.

This is the way Sanskrit विभक्ति (vibhakti) should be thought of. A noun/adjective/pronoun changes
it form to show it’s function.

प्रथमा विभक्ति (prathamā vibhakti) – First case

The subject is called the कर्तृ (kartṛ), literally doer. In a sentence like

अस्ति बालकः (asti bālakaḥ) you can see that bālakaḥ (boy) is the subject of asti (he is). You thus
translate it as

He is a boy, or there is a boy.

The प्रथमा विभक्ति (prathamā vibhakti) is also used with nouns and adjectives or even nouns and
nouns as a copula verb:

बालकः सखि ु तो ऽस्ति - bālakaḥ sukhito ‘sti – The boy is happy / There is a happy boy (Noun +
adjective)

बालको नप
ृ ो ऽस्ति – bālako nṛpo ‘sti – the boy is a king (noun + noun)

द्वितीया विभक्ति (dvitīya vibhakti) – Accusative case / Second case

Accusative – See accusare (to accuse, blame)

You will most often find this case being used as an object case. The accusative can also be used to
express motion, or duration (e.g संवत्सरम ् – for a year) or वनं गच्छति सः (vanaṁ gacchati saḥ, he
goes to the forest, where vanaṁ (forest) is in the accusative).

, विना (vinā) + accusative = without

तत
ृ ीया विभक्ति (tṛtīyā vibhakti) – Instrumental
The तत
ृ ीया विभक्ति (tṛtīyā vibhakti) has three primary usages:

1. Indicating the tool/instrument of an action (e.g with a sharp arrow)

2. Indicating the passive agent (he was killed by rāma)
3. Indicating accompagniment (he came to the forest with rāma)

And two idiomatic ones:

1. Like accusative, विना (vinā) + instrumental = without

2. अलम ् (alam) + instrumental = enough of...

चतुर्थी विभक्ति (caturthī vibhakti) – Dative

The primary usage of the चतुर्थी विभक्ति (caturthī vibhakti) is to signify to/for whom something is
done.

I give to him a present – to him is a चतुर्थी विभक्ति (caturthī vibhakti)

For him I will do anything – for him is a चतुर्थी विभक्ति (caturthī vibhakti)

Also used as object of नमः (namaḥ, reverence)

पञ्चमी विभक्ति (pañcamī vibhakti) – The ablative

Describes source from where something happens

From the city he goes to the forest

From today we will be leading a ascetious life.

Also used with the verbs meaning to fear.

षष्ठी विभक्ति (ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti) – Genitive case

This case has three main functions:

1) Describing possession (the son of the father)

2) Describing partitive (many of the men)
3) With the verb अस ् (to be) to imply possession
नप
ृ स्य पत्र
ु ो ऽस्ति (of the king a son there is – The king has a son)

सप्तमी विभक्ति (saptamī vibhakti) – Locative case

The locative case has ~3 usages, the first being by far the most common
 1. Temporal/Spatial location (Temporal = In 2020, On the first day, Spatial = in the palace)
2. With respect to (e.g हनने hanane = with respect to the murder)
3. With the verb स्निह्यति (snihyati) it means to love. It is also used with words of attachment
and devotion

NOUN DECLENSION: Thematic masculine / neuter

पंलि
ु ङ्ग एकवचन द्विवचन बहुवचन
प्रथमा विभक्ति पुरुषः पुरुषौ पुरुषाः
द्वितीया विभक्ति पुरुषम ् पुरुषौ पुरुषान ्
तत
ृ ीया विभक्ति पुरुषेण पुरुषाभ्याम ् पुरुषैः
चतुर्थी विभक्ति पुरुषाय पुरुषाभ्याम ् पुरुषेभ्यम ्
पञ्चमी विभक्ति पुरुषात ् पुरुषाभ्याम ् पुरुषेभ्यम ्
षष्ठी विभक्ति पुरुषस्य पुरुषयोः पुरुषाणाम ्
सप्तमी विभक्ति पुरुषे पुरुषयोः पुरुषेषु
सम्बोधन पुरुष पुरुषौ पुरुषाः

Neuter:

नपुंसकलिङ्ग एकवचन द्विवचन बहुवचन

प्रथमा विभक्ति पुस्तकम ् पुस्तके पुस्तकानि
द्वितीया विभक्ति पुस्तकम ् पुस्तके पुस्तकानि
तत
ृ ीया विभक्ति पुस्तकेन पुस्तकाभ्याम ् पुस्तकैः
चतुर्थी विभक्ति पुस्तकाय पुस्तकाभ्याम ् पुस्तकेभ्यम ्
पञ्चमी विभक्ति पुस्तकात ् पुस्तकाभ्याम ् पुस्तकेभ्यम ्
षष्ठी विभक्ति पुस्तकस्य पुस्तकयोः पुस्तकाणाम ्
सप्तमी विभक्ति पुस्तके पुस्तकयोः पुस्तकेषु
सम्बोधन पुस्तक पुस्तके पुस्तकानि

Word-order:

Word order in the Sanskrit language is very free. The most basic rule is that:

1) SOV (Subject-Object-verb) is the most common word order.

I him kill, I a gift give = I kill him, I give a gift
2) Verbs often (but not not always at all) appear near the end of the sentence
सर्वनामन ् (sarvanāman) – Pronouns

Pronouns are words like I, him, she, they, this, those, who, etc. We will be learning about them later.
For now, learn the following declension tables:

The word अहम ् (aham), meaning I (first person pronoun)

सर्वनामन ् एकवचन द्विवचन बहुवचन

प्रथमा विभक्ति अहम ् (aham) आवाम ् (āvām) वयम ् vayam
द्वितीया विभक्ति माम ् (mām) (मा) (mā) आवाम ् (āvām) अस्मान ् (नः) (asmān,
naḥ)
तत
ृ ीया विभक्ति मया (mayā) आवाभ्याम(āvāabhyām)
् अस्माभिः (asmābhi)
चतर्थी
ु विभक्ति मह्यम ् (मे) (mahyam, आवाभ्याम(āvāabhyām)
् अस्मभ्यम ् (नः)
me) (asmabhyam, naḥ)
पञ्चमी विभक्ति मत ् (mat) आवाभ्याम(āvāabhyām)
् अस्मत ् (asmat)
षष्ठी विभक्ति मम (मे) (mama, me) आवयोः āvayoḥ अस्माकम ् (नः)
asmākam, naḥ
सप्तमी विभक्ति मयि (mayi) आवयोः āvayoḥ अस्मासु (asmāsu)

The pronoun table for tvam (you, second-person pronoun)

सर्वनामन ् एकवचन द्विवचन बहुवचन

प्रथमा विभक्ति त्वम ् (tvam) युवाम ् (yuvām) यय
ू म ् (yūyam)
द्वितीया विभक्ति त्वाम ् त्वा (tvām, tvā) युवाम ् (yuvām) युष्मान,् वः (yuṣmān
vaḥ)
तत
ृ ीया विभक्ति त्वया (tvayā) युवाभ्याम ् (yuvābhyām) युष्माभिः yuṣmābhi
चतुर्थी विभक्ति तुभ्यम,् ते (tubhyam te युवाभ्याम ् (yuvābhyām) युष्मभ्यम,् वः
(yuṣmabhyam, vaḥ)
पञ्चमी विभक्ति त्वत ् (tvat) युवाभ्याम ् (yuvābhyām) युष्मत ् (yuṣmat)
षष्ठी विभक्ति तव, ते (tava, te) युवयोः (yuvayoḥ) युष्माकम,् वः
(yuṣmākam, vaḥ)
सप्तमी विभक्ति त्वयि (tvayi) युवयोः (yuvayoḥ) युष्मासु (yuṣmāsu)

निपात – Participles

participles are little words carrying sometimes small sometimes big information.

स्म (sma) – Used with present tense to form a past tense

इति (iti) – Functions like quotation marks